The nurse came to wake them both up. Ash struggled to pick himself up; he was still reeling from the aftereffects of the new ability and the killing of Casper. Lita awoke as well. She rubbed her eyes as she let out a small yawn. Both got out to see Daredevil's condition. Lita had to know what would become of him; she needed closure.
They made it to the spot where the horse and the doctors were; one of them held a syringe in his hand. It was obvious what they were going to do, and it wasn't an antibiotic shot. She begged the doctor to let her sit beside him one last time; she needed to be there to send him off. Three years together, besides Ash, Daredevil was the closest to an honest relationship she had with another living being. She couldn't help but sob and hum a song to him to ease his pain, if by a little bit.
Ash looked defeated; he had no way of knowing how to help Daredevil now. All he could do was avenge him when he killed Casper.
{Warning. Destined steed about to die. User must save the steed or suffer a penalty.}
"Shut up! I don't want to hear it. What can you do that could even make this better?"
Ash scolded the system; he was not about to hear it, especially any excuse or useless mission that would reward him, not for Lita's benefit, but just his own.
{Notice. The user can use the Soul Resonate bonus to save Steed. The user must use the bonus to save Steed and transfer the soul to a compatible host body. If the user does not find a new body for the soul within 24 hours, Steed's soul will disappear.}
Laying it on thick for him, Ash was torn. He didn't want to use the system after all the hell it was giving him now. He would have said screw it if he didn't see how much pain Lita's face was in. Even if the body was gone, maybe saving Daredevil's soul was better in that her memories of him would still live on.
Ash walked up to Lita, holding her in one arm's embrace, while the other caressed the neck of Daredevil. Ash could see the pain and fear in the horse's eyes. Ash knew that look; he had it when Isaac died, wondering what his life was going to be without him to take care of him.
Ash could feel a sensation in his hand, followed by a glowing aura around it. It must have been special to him because he noticed no one else, even Lita, was seeing the glow. Ash followed the feeling in his hand; he let himself relax, letting the flow of power course through him and Daredevil.
Daredevil glowed; the light he emanated faded out, and the same light now covered Ash's hand.
{Congratulations, soul successfully obtained. A 24-hour period will commence.}
The system showed a clock for Ash to see, reminding him of the urgency in finding a new body for Daredevil to inhabit.
Ash looked over the body one more time. Daredevil's eyes slowly closed now that his soul, separated from his body, was finally entering its deserved rest period.
Lita leaned into Ash's shoulder, sobbing. Ash wanted to tell her he saved Daredevil's soul, but the risk was too high to let her in on his secret. The doctor and animal handlers carried his body to the trailer to be cremated. Lita signed a waiver as his caretaker, stating that she wanted him burned and put in an urn instead of some company using his body for profit.
After the scene, everyone went home. Lita waited for her dad to pick her up; she was in no condition to ride the bus or call an Uber home.
It took a long time, but her dad arrived, driving the same beat-up Honda he refused to spend money on or replace because of their financial situation.
Ash didn't like her dad. Even as a kid, Lita's dad was mean to him. If not for Isaac, who knows what he would have done to him and Lita when he was on a bender.
"You gonna be ok? You don't have to go home; you can stay at my place tonight?" He asked Lita.
"No, I'll be ok. I don't want to bum you out with how I'm feeling." Lita turned to hug him tight before planting one on his lips. "I'll be fine. You go home and rest. I'll see you Monday."
Lita grabbed her pack as she headed to the car, her dad still giving a cold look to Ash. Ash, in turn, responded with a harder stare; he wasn't going to be intimidated by a forty-year-old alcoholic loser.
The car headed off, and Ash couldn't help but worry for Lita and her mental state. His thoughts were interrupted by the system's clock, which reminded him he was still running on a schedule.
"Oh yeah, I still have one thing I need to do. But where am I gonna put you, boy?"
Ash scratched his head, thinking of how to solve Daredevil's situation properly. He made his way to his bike when he felt the same sensation in his hand he did when he extracted the soul.
{Detection confirmed. The user has found a compatible form for the soul to inhabit to complete the transfer. Does the user wish to begin the transfer process?
Ash's eyes gaped; not a chance in a thousand years would he believe Isaac's bike would be a suitable host for a horse's soul.
"Either it's dumb luck or a bad cosmic joke. But my bike- the system really expects me to sacrifice my valued treasure for this?" Ash felt sucker punched. Not even if God told him he would never sacrifice the bike for anything. But Lita was just as important to him as the bike was; he couldn't hurt her more than she was now.
"But if it saves his soul, it'll be worth it. Lita, I promise you I won't go this far again against Isaac and Amelia's memory. Yes, begin the transfer."
The system did as instructed; the light in Ash's hand transferred itself into the bike. A glowing aura surrounded the entire bike, and on the gas tank, a small carving of a horse's head appeared.
{Transfer completed. Destined steed has survived....WARNING!!!}
Ash didn't have time to react; the bike started on its own, and the engine roared louder than it ever had.
"What the hell?"
{Alert! Destined Steed's soul was filled with regret and anger before transfer. Soul is now berserk. User must quell the soul's rage by avenging its host's previous wrongs before the steed becomes consumed with pure hate.}
"What are you talking about? I already killed Casper; there's nothing else that would have wronged Daredevil."
Ash couldn't finish his sentence; the bike stormed off, with Ash hanging on with everything he had not to fall off or lose his head.
"Wow, boy! Calm down, where are you taking me? There's nothing else left; who in the world wronged you that badly you still carry a grudge over…"
Ash realized it. It hit him in the moment: Casper leading to his death didn't count because he didn't know it was him that poisoned the treats that were meant for Lita- no, the ones that wronged him, that injured him badly and left him sitting in that stall hurt, and angry was what Ash hated as well—the Kraegans.
Daredevil drove mindlessly in anger. Ash did everything he could to stop him. The brakes refused to work; Daredevil fought back to prevent his tires from being stopped. Ash tried brute strength, but the more he fought, the harder Daredevil fought back. Daredevil tried to smash him into a car, then a light post. Ash would dodge before impact to save himself; he only received minor scratches or bumps when he didn't dodge completely.
Daredevil slid into a corner, revving up, and he charged to his destination.
Now Ash knew where he was going: Daredevil was taking him to a sealed part of town, a spot where the Kraegans were nesting under the military's careful watch.
"No! Don't you dare! This is my bike; you're not taking me there." Ash struggled to turn the handlebars in another direction.
Daredevil fought back; he refused to let Ash control him, even in the form of his bike. "Damn you, you wild horse, I won't let you use me for your vengeance. Give me back control of my bike!"
The engine roared again, like a neigh being screamed out by Daredevil. Daredevil continued to his destination; Ash continued cursing and shouting at him to regain some control of the bike or risk losing not only Daredevil's soul but Isaac's bike as well.